THE MOST ELEGANT

 

The most famous operation in which took part the MDR-6 was to ensure a raiding crew DB-3 from part of the 1st mine-torpedo aviation regiment of Colonel Preobrazhensky at the Berlin Four-2 were meteoritic in the flight path of the bombers, and if necessary, had to implement the rescue crews made an emergency landing in the waters of the Baltic sea. Crew DB-3 was specially indicated areas forced landing, where they will watch the seaplanes.

 

In the second half of August, following the approach of German troops to Tallinn Che-2 flew to the city of Oranienbaum. And in September 22 squadron together with the surviving part of the material was sent to the Northern fleet and by 27 September had arrived to a new place-based. At this time it was the completion of the new squadron machines Thus, the unit now numbered 11 seaplanes Th-2. The main task assigned to the crews of Th-2 to the North, was to ensure the wiring sea convoys a Major part of this task was a reconnaissance of ice conditions with the goal of routing traffic, as well as the detection of submarines and enemy ships.

 

Modern man is almost impossible to imagine the conditions in which we had to fly crews Th-2 As a rule, they were carried out under constantly changing weather conditions, at low temperatures. In the Navigator got icy air flow blows away the navigation documents from the desktop, and fall into the cockpit during takeoff, the river froze over and jammed the turret No autopilot meant that the pilot quickly got tired, and then he was helped by someone from the crew of the seaplane. And the weak defensive armament and the presence of a significant “dead zones” of the shelling was practically determined the outcome of air combat at the interception of the aircraft enemy fighters.

 

German pilots to combat long-range reconnaissance used a simple and effective technique. On their Bf-109 they attacked Th-2 from below when approaching them to the shoreline. Tired, exhausted by the long flight, the crews often simply not noticed the enemy planes, the Crews twin-engined Bf 110’s intercepted the aircraft on the high seas: because of their advantage in speed and armament it is easy to imagine than the usually ended such meetings. A total of eleven Th-2, located in the North, in aerial combat was lost eight flying boats — the highest of all fleets. This is another confirmation of the fact that in addition to the speed for long-range Maritime reconnaissance is of great importance, and other characteristics that determine the success of the combat mission.

 

 

 

 

The largest representation seaplanes And V. Chetverikova had on the Black sea. In the lists of the fleet, there were 16 Che-2. The aircraft entered service in the 80-th separate air squadron, based in Gelendzhik Since the summer of 1942, the crews of the Che-2 has started execution of command. Tasks were very diverse. Exploration areas of the Black and Azov seas, the exploration of the coastal foreshore, anti-submarine protection of convoys placing minefields. Supremacy in the air of enemy aircraft led to significant losses including in the composition of the seaplanes. Very often planes were destroyed in a situation when they were most vulnerable on takeoff and landing.

 

At the end of August the squadron moved to Poti. Since 1943 a great place in the battles of the black sea the crews of Four-2 took the fight against German submarines. For these purposes, as a rule, used bombs PLAB-100 and sometimes missiles RS-132. Was several cases of destruction of enemy submarines. So on August 4, the crew of one of Che-2 was detected in 34 miles South-West of Sukhumi the enemy submarine and made the attack with missiles RS-132 and bombs PLAB-100. The boat was counted as destroyed was Also marked as destroyed and a German boat attacked the crew of Th-2 22 Nov 1943.

 

In the Pacific fleet, as already mentioned, there were also boat I. V. Chetverikova. Although the war for the Soviet Union in the far East began on 9 August 1945, in fact clashes with the Japanese were not stopped in 1941. This has occurred both at the border and at sea and in the air. Participants in such incidents had to go to the crews of Th-2. In particular, D. V. Vorob’ev recalls how in one of the patrol flight in September 1942, the crew of which consisted of himself, had to take a real fight with a couple of Japanese fighters to the East of Sakhalin island. By chance, one of the crew of Th-2 was not injured either in combat or after landing — we know that the participants in such incidents sometimes came to a penal battalion, because our aircraft to approach in the air with the Japanese was strictly forbidden. A way to avoid this was almost impossible, conducting reconnaissance flights near the borders with Japan.

 

After the entry of the USSR into the war with Japan, the crews of Th-2 was involved in the execution closure of areas of amphibious landings and the search for enemy ships and submarines.

 

The design of flying boats Th-2 (MBR-6)

 

Marine long-range reconnaissance, Che-2 (MDR-6) was designed and built in accordance with the concept formulated in the USSR in the thirties of the last century — the concept of so-called spy open sea. At the same time he had to solve the problem a light bomber.

 

The plane was a twin-engine flying boat, high-wing monoplane with all-metal construction with a high cantilever wing type “Chaika”. The crew of a scout consisted of four people — the pilot (crew commander), Bombardier-Navigator, the flight and the arrow-radio operator. In some cases, the crew included an additional shooter for service lukovoy installation.

 

The fuselage of the aircraft was performed by the semi-monocoque and was a boat dvuhrjadnoj scheme with a large deadrise. The front step was a cross, back, pointed, wedge shape, called the characteristic appearance of the “iron”. At the tip of the rear of the redan installed a water rudder. To reduce aerodynamic resistance and, accordingly, ensure that a given flight speed the hull had a smooth smooth shape. All cross sections of the boat are curved. The dimensions of the fuselage have boats of different modifications do not coincide.

 

The main idea behind designer when designing boats, there was maximum compression of the fuselage and narrowing it to produce the smallest midsection and minimum weight design. So, the width of the boat all modifications remained unchanged — 1900 mm. the Design was extremely simplified, even to the detriment of local strength, sometimes leading to breakdown of the redan.

 

The fuselage is all-metal. Power set was assembled from extruded and rolled frames, longerons and stringers. Last installed with a pitch of 120 — 150 mm. Cladding were made of duralumin sheet thickness of 0.8 mm. Technologically, the fuselage consisted of three main sections — forward, center and aft. The front held the cockpit of the Navigator is shielded with a turret machine-gun. The cabin had a full set of navigation equipment, sight for the bombing run and intercom for communication with all members of the crew.

 

In the Central part of the fuselage housed the cockpit and cargo compartment with safety equipment, which included a rubber Dinghy, signal equipment, supply of food and drinking water. Provided also possibility of installation in this area, additional fuselage fuel tanks. Next was the working place of the flight (aka — the shooter lukovoy machine gun).

 

The performance characteristics of the seaplanes MDR-6

 

 

In the cockpit equipped with two seats — one (left) stationary for the crew commander, the second hinged on the left. It was assumed that long-haul flights, management will be able to take the second seat Navigator or even borteknik.

 

In the rear fuselage housed the machine gun mount gunner-radio operator and an additional hatch and machine gun installation. For Lugovoi installing the fuselage smoothly into the tail.

 

Access to the cab of the Navigator, the radio operator and the flight was carried out through the rectangular holes on top of the boat, and the cockpit through the hinged lid of the lantern. To safely exit the aircraft through the hatch of his cabin, the Navigator could not — a chance to get under to get the rotating screws was big enough. Jump he had from the cockpit, but there still had to move.

 

From below in the Central and rear fuselage had a special socket for fastening of racks of the chassis is erratic. Flying boat could be operated on the ground and snow-covered airfields. For this purpose, use special removable wheeled or ski landing gear.

 

The wing of a seaplane two-spar, cantilever, all-metal, duralumin covering. Shelf rails — steel sections t-section dimensions mm. 60x60x6 wing skin — dural sheets with thickness of 0.8 to 2 mm. Structurally, the wing is made of three parts: a steeply curved from the main body of the detachable center section and left and right consoles trapezoidal in plan shape with elliptical wingtips. The wingspan of boats in various series and modifications do not coincide. To reduce the influence of water on the propeller mounting of the wing was carried out according to the scheme “the Seagull.”

 

The ailerons were installed on the end parts of the consoles. The covering of the ailerons and fabric. To reduce landing speeds, the vehicle mounted flaps arranged on the wing. Control ailerons— hard from control knobs, flaps, hydraulic, lever on the left side of the cockpit. From below in the Central part of the wing on the two profiled uprights fastened support floats, the necessary rigidity of their installation was achieved using a steel cable braces, and also (on some aircraft) steel struts. In the majority of sample series B floats retracted into the wing.

 

Between the fuselage and supporting the floats could be mounted bomb racks or rails for rocket projectiles. To the front spars of the wings were attached motor, which were installed on the engines. In the bays between the spars housed the fuel tanks.

 

All-metal empennage, vesennee smoothly into the contours of the seaplane — single-fin. The stabilizer is made on the keel, thus avoiding the damaging effects of water. To ensure the required rigidity it is reinforced by shaped steel V-shaped braces. To relieve excessive force from the pedals and steering wheel on the rudder and elevators were installed trimmers. The covering of the rudder and elevators fabric, stabilizer and fin — dural. The Elevator control— the hard, the rudder cable.

 

 

The first prototype MDR-6 was equipped with engines M-25E with propellers constant pitch diameter 2800 mm., the Second prototype, and head serial motors M-63 take-off power of 1100 HP. and variable-pitch propellers of the type AV-1 with a diameter of 2700 mm. apart production aircraft was mounted the engine M-62 with a capacity of 1100 HP, Though these engines had less power, they were more reliable, had not the last value in long-range flights away from the coastline.

 

Motor engines are made from steel tubes welded together. Engine engine type NACA easily removed and provides good access to the power plant. Fuel was ten placed in the wing engineered the fuel tanks with a total capacity of 2200 litres of the increase range in the course of construction of the series in the fuselage mounted auxiliary fuel tanks. The fuel supply to the engines was supplied from pumps. When it goes down borteknik could supply fuel from hand pump located at his workplace. The oil tanks (one per engine) with a capacity of 37 liters each were placed in the fairings behind the engines.

 

The seaplane was equipped with small arms, bomb and rocket armament. Small defensive armament consisted of three 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns mounted in two shielded turrets rotating in Lugovoy installing the second redan. Bow installation ODB-3 was taken from the bomber DB-3. To avoid getting into the cockpit of the Navigator water through a crack in the screen the turret, it is finalized and it received the designation ODB-ZM (upgraded). One alteration is not done, and the turret re-modernized. The average turret SUB-3 is also taken from DB-3, but since 1942 seaplane began to install the turret of the MV-5, previously used in a light bomber su-2. Hatch machine gun mounted on the pin, also designed for DB-3. Ammo for each gun is 650 rounds.

 

Bomb armament of the aircraft consisted of bombs of various calibers with a total mass up to 1000 kg. For the suspension of FAB-250 and FAB-500 in the area of the root parts of the consoles were established holders of DER 19, for a 100-kg bombs mounted special beams called bridges. At the end portions of the wing could also be the rails for eight missiles RS-132 (four on each console).

 

N. Food reserve was, A. CHECHIN